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Thirty years ago, a Japanese love of Tasmanian new-season soba noodles led to a cross-cultural gift of hundreds of cherry blossom trees, now celebrated at the annual Hanami Trail festival.
The annual blooming of the cherry blossoms attracts thousands of visitors to Japan's islands each year. Thousands of kilometres away, another island celebrates the arrival of the same delicate white flowers.
Three hundred cherry blossoms line the Meander River at Deloraine, a gift from a Japanese businessman 30 years ago when Tasmania began growing a prized Japanese staple: buckwheat. The trees form part of the annual Hanami Trail, a northern Tasmanian festival that celebrates everything Japanese. Buckwheat is used to create soba noodles, popular in Japanese restaurants. The concept was developed by Japanese flour mill owner Rick Shiratori, who had been on exchange to Australia in his youth.
The milled seed is aromatic and best served fresh. By growing buckwheat in Tasmania, the Japanese market suddenly had access to two seasons of fresh soba noodles. President of the Australia-Japan Society of Tasmania, Steven Phipps, says the connection between the countries is purely down to Japan's love of shin soba or "new season" noodles.
"The huge advantage of Tasmania is that our seasons here are reversed, so if you grow buckwheat in Tasmania as well as Japan, it means you can enjoy those sweet, fresh, new-season noodles twice a year. "Highlights included aikido , taiko performances and shakuhachi . Dr Phipps said the cherry blossoms bloom once a year for only 10 days, and it is a great opportunity for celebrations.
"We have a population of about 800 Japanese people in Tasmania, and this is the one time of year the community comes together," he said. "It is really a celebration of community, a celebration of culture, a celebration of food and a celebration of nature. "She moved to Australia in 2000 as a student.
Living in nearby Westbury, she keeps a close eye on the cherry blossom trees that line the river, awaiting their annual bloom to celebrate with her family.
"I've been in Tasmania, in this area, for 10 years now. Every year I look forward to this flower," she said. ) Her son Cy Eberle grew up in Tasmania but spent time living in Japan with his family before starting primary school.
"I don't think I really see anyone Japanese outside of this event, unless I am in Japan obviously," he said. After trials for the cultivation of buckwheat were successful in the late 80s, Heazlewood Seeds began assisting local operations for Shiratori Flour Mills. Fourth-generation grower Brenton Heazlewood has been helping grow, store and export buckwheat from his Whitemore property, 30 kilometres south-east of Launceston, for three decades.
Mr Heazlewood said the seed has no relation to wheat, is gluten-free, and is one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world. Buckwheat is a small triangular seed that is sown in summer and grown for three months before it is dried and the husk removed before it is exported.
"We send some to Japan, we send some to restaurants in Singapore, Sydney and Melbourne as well," Mr Heazlewood said. "Demand started off small. When COVID struck, the demand in Japan dropped right off because no-one was going to restaurants, and it really hasn't picked up a lot since then.
" Sixteen-year-old Jez Lupke attended the picnic with his family dressed in costume as his favourite Japanese character. The samurai character comes from video game Genshin Impact and has spawned manga and anime spin-offs.
"I thought about going here because of the Japanese community, that there will be people who will understand the pop culture centred around the character. "
Japanese Japanese Cherry Blossoms Deloraine Cherry Trees Cherry Blossoms Multiculturism Tasmania Tassie Florals Flowers Gardens White Flowers Meander Valley Cherry Bloom Pink Flowers Culture Tasmania Gardens Tasmania Japanese History Buckwheat Agriculture Tasmania Grower Tasmania Tas Hanami Trail Soba Noodles
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